Rhyme Without A Reason
by Raidou The 16th
Summary: Collection of extended scenes, outtakes, side quests for our stories, crazy ideas... you name it, from me, Nightly7 and... you. Yes, you. More details inside. Later chapter: Suicide Redemption, a Blood Lust alternate chapter. R&R, enjoy.
1. Junpei's Turmoil

**Sup? Welcome to Rhyme Without A Reason. The place where, me, Nights, and whoever else who happens to have a crazy idea gather to post said crazy stuff. I'll update this first chapter every time a new entry appears in this 'story', so you know which chapter to jump to in case you're looking for something specific.**

 **Most of this fic will be composed of 'Director's Cuts' for scenes we thought needed one, side quests for our fics, random, but kickass ideas that maybe didn't make the cut for a fic for whatever reason, and even your suggestions. Yes, if you manage to submit a crazy enough idea, I might even write it. Anyway, the first chapter is an outtake of FM's chapter 85's first part, so no need to say 'spoilers'.**

 **That said, hope you enjoy this different take on the scenes. Without further ado, on with it.**

* * *

The capped teen quickly turned around, fearing that Minato would attack him. He prayed for every deity he knew that his feeling was fooling him.

Or better yet, he hoped everything was just a prank, a dream or something. Anything to deny him the reality of that situation.

A slight breeze made him freeze and snap out of his silent wishes.

"Minato!" He screamed, but there was no one there. Not that it helped his condition in the slightest.

He had to force out the air in his lungs. He'd been subconsciously holding his breath, as if even the oxygen inside of him was afraid of Minato. "What am I gonna do..." he mused aloud, biting hard on his lower lip. The ruined city looked the same, no matter where he went. "He'll kill me in seconds..."

... He really said that out loud. He never thought he would. The chill blue haired kid, his man, the dude always by his side when the chips were down...

"What on earth happened to him?" Junpei kept walking forward cautiously. Unwelcome as it was, the sadness calmed him down a little.

He had never experienced such a vulgar display of power and dread. The thing that Minato summoned was maddeningly frightful... he had never seen a creature anything close to that, not even in horror movies or his wildest nightmares.

Could he really summon something like that? Was that really him?

... Did he always hide something devilish as that beneath the surface?

The question made him look down to the ground. "Was all that an act...?" He wondered, and as much as he didn't want to believe it, it was painfully obvious.

Minato just went insane but it was a little different. He wasn't out of control. It just seemed... true. He even seemed tired of holding up that mask for so long. And the expression on his face while he was cursing Hamuko was one of relief, like he was holding that inside from the get go, which made even less sense to him.

But alas, it seemed to be the truth.

... Dammit...

"Tch," Junpei swore under his breath, not believing his rotten luck. His life was really turned upside down in the past few months. He had lost Chidori, then Ken and Shinjiro and now, Minato, the strongest persona user on team was out for their blood.

...

Shaking his thoughts away, he barely pulled himself together and resumed his desperate dash, hoping to find some sort of hole or hiding place where his former friend couldn't find him.

...

...

"Junpei!" Hamuko yelled on the top of her lungs, stopping and looking in every corner of the decimated city. She was still reeling from the slap and abuse from Minato earlier but that wasn't the time to dwell on that. She needed to do something to improve the situation somehow, or else the fear surging inside her would cause her heart to stop. "Where are you!?"

She rounded a corner and pushed through the wreckage, but didn't find the capped young man.

"How far could he have gone...?" The city was vast, but she still intended to search every nook and cranny in the city to locate her friends. "If only Fuuka was here..."

She knew for a fact that Minato would go after Junpei first. The two always had a love-hate relationship during missions. The latter would always try to one-up the former and even talked shit to his face.

The redhead remembered the slight twitch of annoyance on the leader's face every time he dealt with Junpei, sometimes, he would glare at the capped teen behind his back. She'd always brushed it off as minor annoyance but after what happened earlier, she knew that wasn't the case.

He hated Junpei and she knew very well how much of a vengeful mercenary when he was pissed.

However, at the top of his shit-list, was she, herself, for some reason. His demeanor and words during their interaction passed all of his hatred across, and it was so real...

Too real.

The past few weeks she tried desperately to fight back the suspicions in her mind, but all the signs were there. The cult that worshiped Nyalathotep and his champion. Minato disappearing just after defeating Tatsuya and finally, the whole incident on the bridge.

She began to think back on every single moment they shared.

Was it all a lie? Every promise that he made...

The female Fool quickly shook her head. "No, now is not the time to dwell on that," she couldn't afford to waste any more time, lives were at stake. She'd be egotistic to dwell in her illusions.

She searched the area one more time before running off for the next one. Junpei usually hung around the Strip Mall for comics but in his current state, she had no idea where she could find him.

Her mind astray, she tripped over a rock, but was quick enough to stop the fall with her arms. How could she have been so careless... her thoughts and images were passing right before her eyes, at a million miles per hour. She didn't even see... no... she didn't even care where she was going, as long as she could find Junpei. God knew what'd happen if Minato got to him...

His face flashed before her eyes and she punched the ground. "Dammit..".

...

Minato stopped laughing and sat on the edge of the building, overlooking the decimated city of Iwatodai. "Should blast this shithole, for all I care about it..." he said. "But nah, we have much bigger things in store."

So she was going for Junpei, huh? He was easily able to hear her shouting the name due to his superior hearing. "Well then, Hamuko. Let the games begin." He stood up and took a deep breath, concentrating the godly power into his eyes.

"Junpei," Minato said. His so-called best friend... the fallen messiah opened his eyes and zoom-ed straight through all the uselessness between himself and his victim.

Dead people.

Coffins.

Collapsed buildings.

Minato sighed as he continued to look over the city, going through every single detail and particle in the city in micro-seconds. He looked over to the north end of the city.

He saw Mitsuru running.

Akihiko walking cautiously.

Yukari sobbing and praying with her hands clasped together, which drew a laugh from him.

Who the Hell was she praying for?

Finally, he found his victim running like a bitch near the school area. "Heh..." Minato followed Junpei running through the ruins without stopping. He was deathly afraid, the smell of his fear was in the air.

Minato concentrated on his 'best friend's' figure, who sucked in a deep breath and collapsed to the ground when he felt a weight on his shoulder.

"What on earth was that?" Junpei asked aloud, like he didn't know what it was.

The fallen fool channeled the godlike power into his veins and kept going straight for the capped teen.

...

...

Hamuko stopped running and let out a gasp when she felt a terrifying aura bolt past her.

"M-Minato?"

There was no doubt, that energy belonged to him. It was there just for a few seconds which meant he had locked onto his prey.

"Shit!" Hamuko cursed and pulled on her hair. "No, no, no!" Without thinking twice, she ran ahead praying that she wouldn't be too late.

...

...

Every thought in Junpei's mind drained away when a certain aura crept closer. All he could hear was the buzzing in his ear caused by the approaching terror. Not even the voice of his conscience could make it through the ghastly noise drilling into his mind's ear.

He quickly stood up and panicked. While he couldn't sense like Fuuka did, he knew for a fact that it was Minato who was in the vicinity. There wasn't anything special about the aura, it just dread. Plain fear, contagious as a plague, making the air heavier to breathe.

"Fuck!" Junpei tried to power through the pressure upon him and ran away as his reaper inched closer still. "Please, please, please..." he pleaded over and over again, stumbling and faltering his way inside the school. The building was in ruins, but it provided some sort of hiding place. Maybe his hunter would just search for a while and leave him alone.

He quickly forced himself under the rubble and crawled his way inside, burying himself under the debris and dirt.

...

He grimaced slightly.

'What are you gonna do when life catches up?! Crawl under a rock and hide?! Stand up, young man!' His father's rare, sober words reached him.

... Like the old man was one to talk.

Besides, that was not life catching up to him, it was Death! What was the problem with hiding?! Huh, old man?!

... It'd probably be of no use. That was the problem.

"Junpei!"

Minato's voice punched the thought out of his mind. He quickly bit back on the shout of surprise and horror when he heard his name. His body began to shudder when an ungodly amount of dread seeped into the area.

"He's here..." Junpei clenched his jaw hard, hoping to cancel out the shouts. "J-Just go away... I'm already dead." He hissed.

The blue haired hunter glanced around the destruction and found his prey, curled up under a rock just a few yards away. He had half a mind to pull him out by force but that wouldn't as fun. He intended to hurt him mentally and physically and there was one surefire way to do that.

"Junpei!" He sang out again, in between slow steps in a carefree stroll around his location. "Dude, we never really had a chance to talk, huh?"

"I've been so busy making you my bitches," he sneered. "Never got enough time to talk."

Junpei kept quiet and bit hard on his hand.

"Let's talk about girls, shall we? I mean... bros talk about them, right?" Minato suggested, walking closer. "Hm... never mind. My girlfriend is worthless... I'm too ashamed to talk about her."

"..."

"Let's talk about your girl, instead. That goth chick."

The capped teen clenched his other fist.

Was he talking about Chidori...?

"Chidori, was it?"

"Grr..." Junpei took a small breath, hugging his knees. What the hell was he talking about?!

... That was just a ploy, he had to remain calm.

The hunter walked around, humming to himself. His prey was starting to shake due to anger, he could see that.

"She always seemed a little devoid of emotion, you know?" Minato stopped and looked at the spot where Junpei was hiding. "But man, she screamed a who-ho-le lot when I had my way with her." He couldn't contain a laugh.

Junpei widened his eyes.

He what?!

"It was amazing, you should have seen it!" Minato continued. "The sheer emotion, the passion... I taught that bitch how to fear death."

He fucking what?!

"Her persona did choke her out, yeah... Unfortunately I wasn't the one to squeeze her life out of her throat. But someone had to be there to trigger it, right? Does it still count?"

... That... bastard!

Heh... Junpei was coming out really soon. "And you know what else is cool? I can remember her pathetic screaming for you to save her."

He saw a hand emerging from under the debris, clawing at the surface of the rock he was trying to push aside out of pure anger.

"What a pitiful end! She died trying to reach for the pills in my hand, begging me to hand them over like I had her life in my grasp!"

Junpei's nails dug further into the piece of rubble, drawing blood. "You son of a bitch!" Junpei growled, his voice raspy. He remembered very well the way Minato consoled him the day after her death, was that just an act!? Just a fucking game to him!?

The capped teen was inebriated by his hatred, his fingers dripping more blood into the debris they were dug into.

He was gonna beat the shit outta the blue haired bastard! He was going to kill him for Chidori's sake!

Minato sneered. "Come on out Junpei! She wanted me dead, and she wanted you to kill me! Come fulfill her last dying wish! Can you do it?! Or will you just crawl and hide under a rock!?"

...

Junpei yelled on the top his lungs and exploded out of the ruins, throwing the heavy piece of concrete in his grip like a baseball at high speed towards his enemy, before lunging straight forward, readying his fist to tear a hole into the bastard's fucking soul!

"I'm going to kill you!" He roared during his mad charge.

Minato smirked, easily slapping the flying chunk of debris aside with one hand, before allowing Junpei's right to connect with his face, the impact shaking the land slightly and the wind pushing the nearby rocks away.

"Heh," He simply smirked as Junpei gritted his teeth and tried to push his fist deeper into the cheek, to no use. In fact, Minato turned his face against the force of his knuckle.

Iori eventually stared up, his eyes lit with anger.

"... What the Hell are you?!" He asked through his teeth.

"I am the end. Of you, and everything in this godforsaken dump."

"Fuck you!" Junpei screamed in rage, widening the smirk on Minato's face.

No way in Hell he was backing down!

...

Hamuko froze on the spot when she heard a harsh of yell of pain resounding in the area. "What the-!?" that was coming from everywhere, not from a particular direction.

The shout belonged to Junpei, no mistaking it.

Fear seized her limbs and she frantically looked around, hoping to catch them but the shout was multi-directional, it could be coming from anywhere.

Another enraged yell of pain made her lift her head towards the skies. "... From the sky?" the shout was literally coming down from the skies for some reason.

"Junpei!" She cried out. "Where are you!?"

"Where are you..."

The voice made her jump and gasp.

Minato's condescending voice reached her ears, along with a muffled scream in the background.

Hamuko had no idea how that was happening, but she could hear him clearly.

"Let him go!" She blurted out the words. "He never did anything to you! I'm the one you want, right?!"

"... Stupid bitch," was the reply she got from him, and everything fell silent after that.

She ran her nails down her face, trembling from the anxiety pooling inside her stomach.

Junpei was going to die... Minato already had him in his grasp.

And she had no fucking idea where they were!

That left her no choice but to keep run and pray that she would run into them.

"Minato..." She gritted her teeth and ran.

...

Junpei latched with burning hands onto Minato like a vice, trying to grapple him to the ground, but the fallen messiah did not budge. All the puny punches invoked a cruel laugh from him, who casually shoved the now cap-less teen away after a few seconds. "Weakling!"

He had no evoker or sword but he didn't give a crap. All he could see in front of him was the dead body of the bastard who had tortured and killed his beloved Chidori. "You piece of shit!"

Minato ducked under another flaming punch and smirked. "What made you come out, huh?" He wondered, casually weaving out of the way of another fist. "You knew this was hopeless."

The taller male paid no mind and swung another scorching haymaker that missed by a mile. Arisato used the opportunity to finally reply with a shot of his own, which sent Junpei skidding back, but refusing to fall.

"Chidori..." He muttered and ignored the blood leaking out of his mouth. Growling and cursing, he stood up to glare his enemy down. "I'm gonna get you..."

Minato shook his head and lunged forward at blind speed with another brutal, wild strike to Junpei's stomach, this time making him double over. "Pathetic..." The hunter said, staring down at his prey.

Junpei grabbed onto Minato's legs, lest he hit the ground. After letting out a sigh, the latter casually threw the former to the other side with a slap to the face.

"Where is the hero of justice, Junpei?" He said with a scowl. "Come on. Defend her fucking memory!"

Struggling to get up, the short haired teen scowled and charged at him but Minato was through playing games.

He met the furious charge head on and grabbed a hold of his shoulder. With one swift, but dragged out movement, he twisted the joint and made the bone shatter, eventually breaking through the skin.

"Fun time is over..." He said with a serious expression, but frankly couldn't keep a grin in check. The way his skin stretched before the bone ripped through it, the blood that escaped from the wound, the chilling sound of the bone breaking...

The scream could be better. There was rage in it instead of terror. But regardless...

What an amazing feeling. It felt as if he was one bone away from his objective, even though he knew it was inevitable.

He could surely get addicted to the thrill.

But wasn't he, already?!

Minato's eyes widened as the grin grew and turned into a smile as he overpowered his enemy to the ground and growled. "My best friend, huh!?" the agi-user clenched his burning fist and dug his fingers into the ground as Minato started raining down punches on his face with no remorse.

"F-Fuck you!" Junpei spat blood into the bastard's face, still struggling to break free.

The blue haired devil smirked and pulled his fist back, allowing his prey to cough and regain a little breath. "Hey... Hey! Look up there! Can you see that sky?! Can you see your girl up there?!" Arisato said, reeling back to allow Iori to look up.

Junpei sucked in a deep breath, refusing to look the direction he was pointed, instead pointing his eyes to Minato's.

"Look the fuck up!" Minato demanded, releasing another punch at Junpei's face. "She's up there, crying for the life she wasted on your pathetic ass!"

The pain exploded something in him, and he grabbed onto his assailant, repeatedly clawing and punching his body which Minato found amusing. The blunette grabbed Junpei by the head and forced him down, pinning his head against the ground. "... That all?"

"I considered you my best friend," Junpei forced out. "You son of a bitch!"

"I considered you my best friend during every damn cycle, Junpei!" Minato responded. "This hurts, doesn't it?!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Imagine my pain when you brushed me off and greeted me like a stranger!" Arisato shouted and started raining down punches once more.

Junpei took the punishment but still kept trying to struggle his way out. Minato brushed his hand from his face and stared him down. "You know this is useless, just give up and die!"

"Like hell I will," Junpei spat, the flames on his hands burning brighter by the second. "You dammed us all to hell, I will never forgive you!"

"You stupid piece of shit! You will forget all this, shut the hell up."

"I will never, ever forget!" Iori's hand shot at Minato's throat, and he looked at his nemesis dead in the eye. "I won't forget and I won't forgive!"

"You won't do shit!" Arisato replied, wrapping his hand around Junpei's wrist and crushing it under his grip. "You are nothing compared to me, and you know it."

"H-Hamuko..." The downed teen powered through the pain and pulled the blunette closer to the point that their foreheads were touching. "She'll get you..."

... A snort escaped Minato's lips. "If I had a yen for every single time someone told me that..."

"Mark my fucking words!"

Arisato laughed to the skies but unlike the last time, Junpei wasn't scared. The spite had burned all of his dread to ashes.

"Naoya was supposed to be the one.

Then it was Margaret.

Maya was supposed to stop me, too, but I never stopped. Reiji. Katsuya. Theodore and finally... Tatsuya was the one promised to stop this reign of terror but nobody could do shit. The greatest persona user of all time couldn't stop me!"

Minato then looked dead into Junpei's eyes. "And you actually think my weak, broken ex can beat me?" He chuckled. That was actually a good joke. "If they couldn't stop me, that bitch certainly won't!"

"She will slaughter you!" Iori shouted again.

The joke was only funny once.

Minato looked away with a scowl and clicked his tongue, before drawing a breath through his teeth. "You know, in one cycle, Takaya kidnapped and tortured you. You said those exact same words: 'Minato will slaughter you'. Now, just the name is changed, you'll still cling onto someone else to take your revenge for you, huh? Never strong enough to do it on your own, always relying on someone else!" He snapped, clasping Junpei's mouth shut.

"You've always talked a big game. Be it on your behalf, or for others... you always had something to say..."

"Mmmmf!" Junpei bit his hand.

"I'll make sure you never talk again," Minato channeled almighty flames into his fist, before pulling back his bitten hand. "Any last words, punk?"

"Go to Hell!" Junpei yelled out on the top of his heart.

... Heh. "Fitting..."

...

Hamuko trusted her heart and kept running. Somehow, she was able to hear bits and pieces of the conversation. Mostly, it was Junpei screaming in pain along with the painful cracking of bones that accompanied every punch.

The rhythm of the punches accentuated the beat of her heart. Sometimes it seemed like the thing was gonna come out through her throat.

"He's talking about the cycles again," She bit her lip. He clearly knew something even before the first reset. "What is he hiding?"

She also heard Junpei yelling at him that she'd take revenge for him. "Revenge..." she whispered. "Against Minato..."

'Stop right there...'

The redhead stopped her charge when the same aura alerted her and made her halt.

... A drop of something fell on top of her head. And then another

... The Hell...? Was it raining?

"Look up, bitch," the cold voice snapped her towards the top of the building right next to her.

"J-Junpei!"

As soon as she could recognize him, a droplet fell right into her eye before she could react.

It was blood.

She was seeing red out of her left eye.

She didn't even blink.

Her friend was right there, in the grasp of the fallen messiah who was glaring her down from the top of the building.

Junpei was bleeding profusely. His entire uniform was drenched in blood and Minato was holding him by the ankle, upside down on the edge of the building.

"Junpei!" Hamuko shouted.

"What are you gonna do, huh?" The blunette asked. "I highly doubt you'll do anything..."

She didn't care about the questions this time. "Leave him alone!" She ordered. "That's going too far!"

Arisato blew a raspberry. "Yeah right," he spat, flipping her the birds again with his free hand. "This fool is all yours and remember... I have far worse on store for you."

He loosened the grip around Junpei's ankle and the teen plummeted downwards at a furious pace.

The redhead swallowed her anxiety and questions like a pill and ran for the landing point.

Minato gave one last stare at the two before turning on his heels and disappeared, heading for his next victim.

Hell if he wasn't going to make all of them suffer...

Hamuko positioned herself on the landing point and let him fall on her arms. The sickening slapping sound of his soaked clothes falling on her arms sounded like hand, slapping her face.

It was all real.

She quickly rested the battered male on the ground and observed his condition. "Junpei...?"

The guy opened his mouth but nothing came out.

She leaned in closer. "Speak up, please..." She pleaded.

Iori couldn't get his words out, and upon closer inspection, she could see some burns on his tongue.

...

"God no..." she shook her head.

Junpei grabbed her by the ribbon and shook her slightly, trying to force words out but all that came out were whimpers.

"Junpei..." Hamuko bit her lip. Nooo... "Open your mouth..." She asked him.

The male did so, and allowed her to observe more burns that ran down his throat. The hold around her tightened, but she was still lost in the shock and horror.

... Did Minato really... burn down his... vocal cords...?

He disabled Junpei for life...

The agi-user released her ribbon and collapsed to ground, literally coughed out small purple embers from his throat.

"What did he... do to you..." Hamuko whispered, the knots on her throat making her speech difficult.

The male couldn't even scream in pain, all he did was shudder on the ground.

He began scribbling in the dirt with his still bloody fingers, after several failed attempts of getting his voice to come out.

The girl was about to help him up but stopped when she observed the words that Junpei had written down on the ground.

"He killed Chidori..." Hamuko read aloud.

Junpei bit his lip and continued writing.

"Kill him..."

Hamuko read the next few words and looked away.

He had slapped and abused her on the bridge but burning down Junpei's vocal cords...

How could he...

She clutched Junpei's broken frame with a vice grip, silently promising to never let anything slip away from her again.

"Minato!" She shouted at the sky. She was going to stop him, no matter what...!

* * *

 **A/N about the chapter: Here's the thing about this. If you haven't noticed, I'm the co writer of FM. Nice to meet you. :P**

 **I usually just help plan the script for FM's chapters. I rarely write anything, cause I got my own fics/life/stuff to take care of, and my creativity has been running kinda low lately.**

 **But then I looked at the latest chapter, and two scenes immediately popped into my mind: Junpei's blood raining on Hamuko and the capped teen falling on her arms like a wet towel. So I was like, hey can I edit this chapter, and Nights gave me the green light. This is the result. Hope you enjoyed it, kind of a change of pace from Nights' gritty, in your face style. I even think I might actually begin editing some of the next chapters, though... depends on how sleepless I am. :P**

 **Things in this fic, and where to find them:**

 **CH 1: Junpei's Turmoil, a Fallen Messiah outtake.**

 **CH 2: Caught In A Mosh, an extended lynching scene from Seasons In The Abyss.**

 **CH 3: *new* Suicide Redemption, a Blood Lust alternate chapter.**

 **Usual A/N: So... Yeah. Here's this new thing, hope you like it. If possible, do post suggestions in the box below. I'm dying to write something a bit different. Maybe it'll revive my motivation for writing, since it's been shot dead for a while. You know what else you can do with the review box below? REVIEW! Send your critics and opinions my way, please, feedback is key. Anyways, I'm Raidou the 16th and I approve this message. *thumbs up* Yes, Nights, I took out the last line. Use it as you please. *grins* Peace!**


	2. Caught In A Mosh

**What do you mean two consecutive updates? Am I crazy? Yeah, I am! This is an outtake of Seasons In The Abyss' third scene, which I had for a while. It lacked a bit of brutality, so I went back to the drawing board and lashed out more, giving birth to this. In its month an a half(?) of existence, only Nights has read this.**

 **Ah, just a reminder. Always remember to check chapter 1 to find the full resume of the things we post in this fic, and in which chapter to find them. It'll be updated as we post more chapters.**

 **Do I need to warn you that it's going downhill from here? It's going to be brutal. I don't think everyone can handle this kind of scene, so I suggest you head back if you got anything this.**

 **Anyway, enough about that. On with it.**

* * *

...

If I woke up in a different place again, I swear...

Slowly, I opened my eyes.

Goddammit...

... Actually, that was not my biggest concern...

Why was I tied down?

Why was I kneeling down?

Who were all these people?

Gah, the sun was blinding! I shut my eyes closed again lest they got fried in their sockets.

Holy Hell...

"On behalf of the whole village of Tsukigata, I declare this miscreant... guilty of all charges!" The owner of the hand which was lying on my back said, and I could hear the people cheering.

... Uh...

Okay, time to open my eyes again.

Where was I?

I strained my eyes, but I could keep them open for a while, long enough to know I was on a makeshift stand. It was a bit tall, so even though I was kneeling, people were still at my chest's height.

... I must have been in Shinato's mind, still.

Before I could look back, I felt a boot kick me in the back. I tumbled forward out of the stand and fell to the ground before me.

I was tied, so there was nothing I could do to soften my fall. Only thing I could do was to try and fall on my side, instead of hitting my teeth on the dirt.

It was not long before the first kick came. Right to the stomach. The impact made saliva rise up to his nostrils, which caused the killer to cough and hack.

I grit my teeth to try and swallow the pain. Kurogawa tried to summon Mastro, but something was compelling him not to. I fact, something was even restraining his voice... I tried to speak something, but...

I held my breath. Not Shinato, but me, inside his head.

What was this agony...

I tried again, and my chest hurt. I never...

I'd never felt anything like that.

And the beating began, as an older man stepped forth and hit him with a cane. A weak strike, which passed the strong hatred across very well.

The phalanx of furious kicks started soon after, the ones I couldn't see were the ones that hurt the most.

A punch then hit my face, which rebounded off the ground. I'm pretty sure that opened a wound, as I began to taste blood.

How...

How did Shinato not express any reaction?

Feet and legs were mostly what I could see, as the killer refused to look up. His eyes remained fixed into one place as his body rocked back and forth, to and fro from the impact of the blows he took.

The only moment he averted his eyes from wherever he was looking was when a man grabbed him by the collar of the coat he was still wearing, and stared at his eyes. I could feel the emptiness in Shinato's eyes as he looked back at the tall, scruffy man.

"Let this be proof that no one..." The man trailed off before spitting right into Shinato's eye. "No one! Fucks with us!" A fierce downward punch was fired and hit him straight on the lips, sending him crashing back to the ground. His teeth had surely cracked, as he immediately spat the white chunks to the ground in the midst of the mixture of saliva and blood.

Someone stomped his ribs with a geta, and it hit in a wrong way.

... A very wrong way...

I could hear his... rib... snapping. Loud and clear. And it was not just that which made me nauseated.

I could also hear something being pierced by that shard. Kurogawa shut his eyes and grit his teeth, but refused to even want to scream.

Wanting to close my eyes, I tried time and again to do something, or at the very least turn away from the scene, but I couldn't. I didn't have a body, I was trapped inside of his head!

Shinato took the hits and couldn't even say a word. I saw the exact moment a rock hit his forehead, and the blood began to wash away the spit in his eyelid. I was seeing red turn to black through his eye. I felt that clearly as if I had a forehead at the moment, which made me jump.

I felt frustration, fear and anxiety quickly rise up to my throat, somehow.

From the wall of people that stood before Shinato, a child came and approached him.

"This is for dad!" The kid stepped up and punted my head, hard as he could. The neck almost snapped backwards and I was almost literally kicked out of his head, as his conscience threatened to fade.

The strikes continued, until I felt the still working eyelid shoot wide open.

And then the cold of a thrust to my side.

Was that a knife...?

And then another, even deeper. This time, I felt the pain, as well.

I painfully looked towards the man holding a bloodied small dagger in his hand, being dragged back by a few other people with an accomplished smirk on his face.

"Go to Hell!" I could read his lips before he faded back into the crowd.

Speaking of the crowd...

I was skipping breaths, myself.

Lying down in the eye of a tornado of furious people... being kicked left and right... despised. Outcast. Hated. Broken, beat and scarred...

... Let me tell you a secret.

I used to be claustrophobic.

And that came back to me at that instant, full force.

Wherever I was inside of Shinato's head, I took a clenched fist to my mouth as my stomach whirled and swirled.

And I didn't have a stomach, or a fist, or a mouth!

I felt suffocated. I was no longer skipping breaths, it was like I was unable to breathe.

It wasn't even the death or the pain that was getting to me, because I could, somehow, turn his pain on and off, as I noticed. Kind of like an empathy switch. I just didn't know how to control it, yet. Sometimes I'd feel his pain, sometimes I'd activate his reflexes... I'd have to figure out how that worked.

But regardless of that "switch", I couldn't escape what I was feeling at that moment.

It was too much...

"Enough!" I heard a voice from behind me. It was the voice of the one that kicked me off the stand. People did as he demanded, and quickly began to step away from me.

Shinato was twitching on the ground, convulsing from the immense pain. Nigh unidentifiable. His face was mined with swollen bumps, blood dripping down from his mouth, eye and nose down to the ground underneath. His legs kicked against his will, also bruised beyond recognition from the stomps, as a few people tried to crush his kneecaps. His upper body was bleeding within and without. His neck was also almost unmovable from intense strain: someone had pinned him to the ground by his neck. The bile rising up to his throat now tasted like rust and acid.

The pain was unbearable. It was not almost supportable, no. It was horrible. I once heard you can only take so much pain before your brain turns off, or something like that. But Shinato was still on...

But still, he swallowed it and tried to keep breathing.

And almost failing.

In fact...

Did I feel a small smirk on his broken teeth?

Did he... was he reveling in the pain?

Why?

... Why?!

"It's time to end this murderer's streak, don't you all think?" The executioner's voice was heard again.

The crowd cheered and stepped back from Shinato. I could finally notice the light of noon, again.

He was pulled to his feet by his hair, and I felt the cold of a blade pressing against his neck.

"So...? Got any last words?! Hahahaha!" The man laughed right into my ear as he pulled harshly on Shinato's hair. He knew the beaten man couldn't speak.

'Hypocrites!'

... Huh?

'You all deserve to die, you ungrateful bastards!'

... What was that...?

Was it...?

'I can't believe I even tried to turn this Hell you all deserve to live in into a better place!'

Shinato?

Those thoughts flew around loosely. I could hear them clearly, inside of his head.

I could feel a very quiet click... maybe that was the empathy switch turning o- Holy...

I could feel Shinato's smirk turn upside down into a scowl. He breathed heavily, as he ran his working eye on the crowd. It was as if I, myself, was making that expression.

That was spite, stronger than I've ever felt. He could see each of the faces before him dying in different ways. For a split second, I swear I saw the flash of bloodied face among the crowd.

And it all went downhill from there, as his deranged mind began to interact with mine and I finally found out why he was smiling before.

He was wishing, from the dark pits of his heart, that the same pain he felt was applied to everyone there, tenfold. No, billionfold.

Marked foreheads, with gouged out eyes...

Cracked skulls, caused by a forced lobotomy...

Severed fingers, forcibly bitten off by their owner...

Locked lips, right after ingestion of castor oil...

Knit eyelids, with teeth removed with his trusty pliers...

Hate. Pure hatred for the things he fought so hard to protect.

He wanted everything to crumble at his hand, at that moment.

But alas, he was there. He, himself, was looking like one of his visions. They deemed him the thing he despised the most.

A worthless criminal...

...

I'd shake my head, if I could. For a moment, I kind of felt for him.

... What?

He was a serial killer! What was I saying?!

...

I...

I'd need time to think about that.

'I wasted myself and was denied by the ones I tried to protect. I've nothing left for the world. Just kill me, already...'

... what?

'I give up.'

As he thought that, I could hear my executioner's laugh, as the blade cut clean across my throat.

...

I could feel the warm blood running on my skin, heading down towards my chest.

Right after that, I was tossed and fell limp to the ground. My head bounced helplessly once, as my conscience began to fade to the sound of laughter and cheering...

...

...

I opened my eyes again to find myself staring at the Shinato's mirror, with hands wrapped around my throat. The man was reflecting my movements, but his throat was actually bleeding. I just couldn't see the wound because my hand was probably over it.

Stupefied, I kept staring at the image before me.

I now knew what it was like to have my throat slit.

...

I shook my head and straightened myself back up, calming my mind down a bit.

Shinato also mimicked my movement and took his hands off his throat, but this time, the blood disappeared. In fact, all expression disappeared. He was only staring back, motionless and... empty.

I took a deep breath and let my shoulders fall, before exhaling.

What an experience...

Closing my eyes, I turned around and looked at the many mirrors around me.

Would I have to live all of those lives?

Sigh...

It was already enough living mine. I thought I was suffering enough with everyone drifting away as they were, but... apparently, I had a lot to learn.

That was gonna be a long ride...

* * *

 **A/N about the chapter: You know what? I like Shinato. Wrote him so little, liked him so much. His death was very cool for me to think about, and the whole thing with the empathy was the icing on the cake. What I did, in this outtake, was remove some of the restraints and go all out, trying to detail what he had to suffer through before Falling in the last minute of his life. Sigh... gonna miss the guy.**

 **Things in this fic, and where to find them:**

 **CH 1: *new* Junpei's Turmoil, a Fallen Messiah outtake.**

 **CH 2: *new* Caught In A Mosh, an extended lynching scene from Seasons In The Abyss.**

 **Usual A/N: So... Yeah. Here's this new thing, hope you like it. If possible, do post suggestions in the box below. I'm dying to write something a bit different. Maybe it'll revive my motivation for writing, since it's been shot dead for a while. You know what else you can do with the review box below? REVIEW! Send your critics and opinions my way, please, feedback is key. Anyways, I'm Raidou the 16th and I approve this message. *thumbs up* Peace!**


	3. Suicide Redemption

**Sup. o/ Back with this again, this time with a scene from Blood Lust. In fact, it's a couple of scenes. I don't remember from which chapter it was, but it was entertaining enough for me to tamper with it for a bit.**

 **Ah, just a reminder. Always remember to check chapter 1 to find the full resume of the things we post in this fic, and in which chapter to find them. It'll be updated as we post more chapters.**

 **Hope you enjoy it, on with it.**

* * *

"Calm the hell down! Dude, calm down, you're safe!"

"He's not listening," Akihiko grunted. Junpei's plead fell on deaf ears. "Minato, calm down!"

Despite his friends' efforts, the blunet kept kicking and screaming. Broken and weary from the last dreadful twenty four hours, he sobbed and yelled every waking moment since he regained consciousness. As he struggled against Sanada's and Iori's grip, his violent thrashing and rising adrenaline quickened the flow of blood, which spilled endlessly on the sheets of his bed. Healing was also increasingly difficult, since he just wouldn't stay still!

Mitsuru, also broken by the day before, was the only one who couldn't raise her voice to match Minato's screams. But still, she yelled for him to calm down more than thrice, even though she knew she wasn't reaching. Perhaps she also needed to tell herself to calm down, and screaming at the top of her lungs, even if they were weak at that moment, could help her situation a bit.

Turns out, it didn't. Her own screams made her even more frustrated, as her voice reached its frayed ends. Her tone wasn't the same anymore, and it took her a moment to pull back from her self inflicted agony. She eventually stopped yelling and watched the situation unfold, selfish as her decision may have seemed to be.

She needed to accept that she was at her weakest and act accordingly. Pride would only hurt more people.

"Dammit," Yukari couldn't contain herself and grabbed Arisato's shoulders, powering Junpei aside. She tried to shake him back to his senses, but his eyes were still lifeless when she gazed at them from above, despite his high activity. "Minato, answer me!"

"He's gone," Akihiko said. "That damn shadow isn't here anymore! Snap out of it!"

Minato started shouting even louder upon hearing those words, much to the boxer's surprise. Another wild thrash sent him backwards and ended up slapping Yukari, sending her down on her behind. At that, the blunet finally sat up on his bed, looking around wildly with tears streaming down his face.

"Minato!" Hamuko finally found her voice again and tackled him back to the bed before he could do anything stupid. No way in hell she was allowing him to get out of that mattress.

"Don't let him get away!" Yukari shouted, rubbing her red cheek as Hamuko tried to wrestle the weary blunet back to the bed. He still struggled under her, but had grown so weak, even with a broken body she was able to hold him down.

"Gack," the redhead pulled away and widened her eyes at the amount of blood on her uniform, giving Junpei the opening he needed to go back to restraining Minato to the bed.

Mitsuru eventually broke her silence and crouched down near Yukari. "Could you please go get some bandages?" She asked calmly, but still, her voice cracked. The brunette took a moment to register the order, but eventually got up and set out to do as she was told.

Junpei yelled at Arisato again as he blunet struggled and thrashed beneath him. Iori was hit far too many times, but endured the blows his already damaged body.

"Hamuko-chan!" Fuuka called towards the redhead who was still staring blankly at the blood she was doused in. The never-ending screams and wails were doing a number on her mind. She couldn't stop shaking. Everything blurred in front of her for a moment and she felt her mind going numb.

What was happening...?

"Wake up!" Fuuka grabbed her by the shoulders, as Minato finally pushed Junpei away and sat up again.

He stopped to look at the bandages on his hands and arms for a brief while, as if on a contemplative daze...

Before he began to bite and rip away at the bandages and wounds on his hands and fingers, gnawing on the flesh and aggravating the lacerations that he received just minutes ago.

That pulled even Akihiko's breaks.

"No, you won't!" The boxer grabbed the blunet's wrists and wrestled them away from his mouth, but Minato pulled his head back and said his first barely coherent words since he woke up.

"Leave me alone!" He screeched with a cracked and raspy voice, before smashing his head with all the force he could muster into Akihiko's open chest, knocking him down to the ground with a scream and a thud.

"Akihiko-senpai!" Junpei yelled and went to his aid, as Sanada supported himself on an elbow and felt for his ribs. That had hit in a wrong, wrong way and hurt more than it should have...

His eyes still aimed at the blunet, however, who thrashed around again, brutally smashing the back of his head against the frame of his bed.

And then again, occasioning a sickening sound that made Hamuko freeze just when she was about to move. As much as she wanted to help him, numbness flooded into her limbs and brain every time her eyes even passed over him.

Minato, free again, resumed his self mutilation, clawing, biting his previous wounds, smashing his head against the bed and ripping away his own hair like a man possessed.

Until he froze and turned towards the window.

After a breath, he got up and bolted towards the frame, looking to jump out of it.

"No!" Fuuka yelled and followed the blunet, quickly as she could. She managed to catch him by the ankle, but could barely keep him from advancing. She couldn't hold it much longer.

Yukari came back just in time to witness the scene, and dropped everything she had in her hands to help Yamagishi bring Minato back into the room. Junpei also sprung into motion and helped the two girls by grabbing a hold of the same leg as Fuuka. They gave one big tug and managed to get Arisato to release the window pane, making him fall face first on the ground. It looked painful, but was better than having him throw himself out of the window.

The two girls grabbed a hold of his arms and Mitsuru came back moments later, holding a few pills in her palms. "Hold him down!"

Hamuko soon joined the three and kept him glued to the wall. She glanced at his eyes and her grip slipped away.

Minato yelled out loud directly in her face, gazing into her soul with his vacant eyes.

That was enough to shake her very core, her grip worsening by every passing second. She couldn't hold onto him much longer. Groaning, she fell backwards, almost literally crawling away from the broken teenager.

"Tch, Hamuko," Junpei snapped. "The Hell are you doing!?" He couldn't believe it. She hadn't done a damn thing to help her boyfriend. She wasn't even standing, just sitting on the ground like a lost child while the rest struggled with Minato.

Mitsuru turned two stern red eyes to Hamuko before shoving a pill down Arisato's throat. It was an experience less than pleasant, but that was the only way.

Fuuka gave Junpei a glass of water which the latter forced the blunet to swallow, in an effort to make him gulp down the pills.

Minato knocked the glass away and spat away the pills before coughing madly. The three restrainers allowed him room, as his hands suffered under their grip to help his situation.

But the first thing he did was to scratch wildly at his throat, trying to rip it open.

That sent the room into a bigger uproar than it already was. No one could find an alternative other than holding his arms again.

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru called the still downed boxer through her sore throat. "Knock him out." She demanded, already lowering her head.

"But..." Sanada began.

"Don't you dare!" Hamuko found her voice.

Kirijo simply turned towards her with a frostbiting glare, before turning back towards the silver haired fighter and nodding.

After looking back at the older redhead, he exhaled. "Really…" He clenched his fists and painfully sprung up, before approaching the blunet.

"Hold him still... I don't wanna miss." Akihiko told the three in charge of the suicidal young man. Another mad thrash made the three persona users strengthen their hold, which allowed Minato to look dead into Sanada's eyes.

The lifeless gaze made the boxer chew on his bottom lip, but nevertheless he aimed his strike to his temple.

One last scream from the blunet brought forth droplets of blood to the ground, and some fell near his feet.

"Sorry…" Akihiko whispered before closing his eyes smashing his left fist into the soft stop of Minato's temple, finally knocking the fool out.

The boxer panted and stood back to his full height, only to wince after the pain on his chest bit again. Something may have cracked there, he felt... He put a hand over the aching place.

He then turned towards the cowering younger redhead and lowered his shoulders. He could partly understand her situation, but... that was hardly the time to hide away. He couldn't be mad, but he had little to say to her. Sighing, he eventually averted his eyes and sought for some kind of seat or support.

Yukari exhaled and collapsed to the ground right after, extremely drained. Fuuka eventually came and sat by her side on the ground, threatening to break into tears, to which Takeba responded with a hug. The teal haired girl then began sobbing copiously on her friend's shoulder, who did little but tighten the grip around her and hold her own tears. They couldn't do much but be there for each other, at that moment.

Mitsuru leaned against a wall and looked around the room, weary as each and every one there, if not more. Her eyes then met Akihiko's.

After a brief moment, he approached and put a hand on her shoulder.

He didn't need to say anything. Those were possibly the darkest times in their history as SEES. As many challenges they had faced before, the next trial always seemed to hurt the most. There never seemed to be a bright future beyond all the fighting they've done, it all seemed like a losing game.

In her eyes, he could see that she was doubting the validity of this whole struggle. She was asking him why.

Just a squeeze on her shoulder was his answer, and she understood it. After nodding, she lowered her head and allowed him to get her out of that room.

Junpei removed his cap and lifted Minato up before carrying him over to the bed, placing him and gently as he could on the mattress.

Hamuko got up on shaky legs and wobbled her way towards the exit, not stopping to look at her friends. She needed a place to cool off and stay the hell away from Minato. Pushing the door aside, she made her way down to her room.

Yukari raised her head and witnessed the retreating girl. "She's not right at all…" She muttered.

"You're right," Junpei sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "But man… we're all broken. I can't really blame her."

"Hm..." Yukari broke away from Fuuka to grab the first-aid kit that was still on the floor and made her way over to Minato, patching out the grotesque looking wounds.

His school uniform was burned and cut at various places, not to mention it smelt like blood and vomit. "He needs a change of clothes too…" She acknowledged.

"... Junpei, can you do it?" Takeba asked averting her eyes, half expecting the capped teen to refuse.

But to her surprise, Junpei nodded.

"Sure. You can keep patching his wounds." He said, taking fresh clothes out of Minato's closet. He was going to undress a guy and then change his clothes, but he was past caring at this point. Arisato was a friend in dire need of help. He had half a mind to ask Hamuko but he knew she'd refuse.

Yukari kept tending to him and Iori removed his jacket and shirt, putting on a clean t-shirt. The two teens winced at the wounds but kept working, doing their best not to mind smell and blood.

Fuuka eventually stood up and made her way up the stairs, but, much to her dismay, Hamuko had locked herself up in her room and wasn't responding. Yamagishi hung her head low and walked over to her own room, collapsing onto the bed.

Mitsuru placed her head against the pillow and shut her eyes, hoping for a few minutes of sleep.

Akihiko's lights went out as soon as his head touched the pillow, despite the pain.

Junpei and Yukari ended up passing out at the side of Minato's bed.

"It'll be alright," Ken said, patting the whimpering canine. The two were forced to listen to the screams coming from upstairs. He couldn't believe that Minato of all people was screaming like that. He could feel the despair behind the vibrations. Hell, even Ken himself didn't scream as helplessly after the death of his mother.

"Minato-senpai…" The boy rubbed his eyes, still petting Koromaru's head, trying to calm the canine and himself down.

...

...

Sho steadied himself on the tree and looked ahead. Thankfully the window was open and he could get a clear view…. And it was far from what he wanted to see.

Minato was motionless in his bed, eyes glazed over, like he was drugged beyond his mind. A butt load of pills and shot injections were on the side table next to him.

Yukari was sitting next to him, staring at him intently.

"What the fuck happened to him!?" Sho clenched his fist. What the heck happened to the relentless warrior!? What happened to the guy who had kicked his ass!?

The redhead edged closer, getting a better view. Minato's head was cracked open at various places and he was heavily bandaged but despite that, the blood wasn't stopping. He could also see the broken frame of his bed.

"…. He did that to himself?" Sho blinked. Really? He abused himself? But why?

"Minato…" Sho couldn't believe the despair bubbling in his chest. It pained him to see someone so great like that, someone he respected a ton beaten like that. "What happened to you, man…"

His mind went back to the darkened dude he saw at the gates. He was able to witness it all. Minato coming out and then losing his shit and then getting dragged away by the shadowy looking thing, he was able to escape with Jin before he smashed the annoying nerd into the ground and left him for dead.

"That insolent bastard!" Sho cursed, swearing to put the shadow through hell for what he did to Minato. How the heck was he able to fight in such a condition!?

"…. Get well soon," Sho jumped down from the tree and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

"Damn, I should have killed Jin…." he was a little concerned about the nerd attacking the defenseless teen but… "Eh, his friends won't let him…. Right." he nodded. Bonds and all.

...

...

Hamuko was curled up against the door of her own room, still caked in Minato's blood. It nauseated her, but the lethargy kept her from even getting up to change her clothes. Her legs weren't there anymore; all those screams bore a hole in her mind.

He had yelled out in pain before but this was something else. Earlier, his yells always carried vengeance, like he wanted to get up and dismantle the son of a bitch for hurting him, but this time… loud as the screams were, they seemed... powerless. Like they were the only thing he could do, in the face of an unavoidable suffering.

That was probably right, huh...?

She hated herself for just sitting there, gaping in horror as the blunet thrashed around. She fully understood the lashing out she got from her team mates but if only they knew. They knew shit compared to her.

Finally gaining a bit of energy back, she tried to stand up, only to collapse on her elbows, before rolling on her back and running both hands down her own face with an exasperated sigh.

"... you destroyed him...!" She wanted the demon out of his system but she never, ever wanted something like that happen to him. He was left a shell of his former self... no... he now was his former self... the very person he was before that monster became trapped in him, and now he couldn't live with the things he's done. She doubted he could ever be a normal human being again.

The redhead glanced at her hands and cursed her own weakness. "What am I supposed to do!?" It wasn't her fault, the circumstances were like this. Who wouldn't be rooted to the ground by that?

Had they no feelings...?!

Hamuko cursed aloud, hoping that her shout reach the idiots downstairs.

They had no freaking idea! Only she did.

Only she knew how much it hurt...

Eventually, she crawled under the sheets of her bed and slipped into slumber, with the weight of a sob still in her chest.

* * *

"Let him go!" Hamuko screamed at the very top of her lungs. She was sure her shout had reached the entire world.

But still, no one listened.

Especially not the blackened version of Minato, who still stared at her with cold, dead eyes.

And her own soul was frozen below zero by the gaze. Still, she had to get him.

"Forgive me...!" She heard inside of her head. It was Arisato's voice. So helpless... So...

Weak.

The yell made her heart skip a beat and she couldn't help but cringe, but she was resolute the moment just after.

It was at his weakest that he needed her the most.

The wind around her hand shattered as she willed a spear into her grip, she charged at the monster before her, aiming to eradicate it from existence.

"No..." She heard, but that didn't stop her from dealing a horizontal slash, looking to cut the figure in half...

... Which it effortlessly did.

But it still remained intact, like she had just cut through an image.

She took a step back, awestruck. But soon, she found a new course of action.

"Hades!" She called forth.

"No..." She heard, once again.

"Aquadyne!" She belted out, ordering the underworld God to raise a huge geyser from beneath the motionless creature, which dissipated into mist, corrupting the erupting waters from foam white to black.

As the waters subsided, the creature was back in its place, still staring holes into her soul.

Unsure of what to do, the girl stared back at the monster with her mouth ajar. She was completely at a loss.

Until the monster pointed a hand towards her.

Hamuko braced herself, but...

All the hand did was turn white.

Rather... all it did was turn human.

"Hamuko..." The black figure called to her, and after it did, she could see its face undergoing the same change.

From its chin up until its hairline, his face had assumed its natural colors.

Minato's colors.

As its hair turned blue, the redhead couldn't contain herself. Her weapon immediately disappeared and she broke off in a run towards the boy.

Upon reaching him, she locked him into the tightest embrace she could. She did not want to let go.

"I'm sorry... I forgive you." She whispered in his ear, as a tear made its way down her cheek.

A moment of silence followed as Minato remained motionless in her arms.

She then heard a sound. It was the same shattering sound her spear made when it came into existence.

"I don't." She heard him say, and before she could reply, she felt he stabbed himself with the blade he had summoned.

Which passed through her, as well.

She felt his and her pain at the same time, and it made her scream wildly. No way she could endure it. She even tried to remove the blade from her, but it seemed the sword had united the two of them in their agony.

No effort was strong enough, and no scream was loud enough. There was just no venting the pain. She couldn't escape.

* * *

And it was her own scream that woke her up. Drenched in sweat, she looked frantically from side to side, hyperventilating.

When her one, deeper breath managed to calm her down, she lowered her head and rubbed her eyes.

That was just a dream...

When her breathing fully stabilized, she assessed her situation and decided to go take a shower.

...

...

"How is he…?" Ken dared ask as Akihiko came down the steps.

"Not good... but he might be better now, I'm not sure." The boxer replied, frustrated and tired beyond belief as he slammed himself into the couch and buried his face in his palms. "Dammit, we just can't catch a break..."

Yukari rubbed her right arm, making her own way to the lounge. "... Morning."

"Hey." Was the general answer she got.

"How is he?" Akihiko asked, looking up from his palms.

"He's asleep. I don't know when he might wake up or if he'll be calmer when he wakes up, but... Junpei's still there. We took turns during the night bu he decided to stay awake." She replied, turning around a chair from the dining table before taking a seat, facing the people in the lounge.

It was strange but she had forgotten about her own problems. The nightmares of her father causing the Dark Hour were no longer there, Minato's condition was the only thing in her mind. It was paining her just as much as her previous demons.

"I can't believe that's really him," Ken sighed. "I've never heard anyone cry and scream like that."

"We need to keep him in check." Akihiko said. "We can't let him mutilate himself any further-"

"Mutilate!" Ken gasped, eyes widening upon the word. "W-What are you talking about!?"

Fuuka stepped down the stairs with a disc in hand. She silently took her place near Yukari and witnessed the conversation unfold.

"He was hurting himself quite badly..." The boxer answer, turning towards the child. "We had to knock him out and drug him just to make him stop."

Ken grimaced, looking down to the ground.

Mutilating himself? Minato...?

That couldn't be...

"... Fuuka, how're you?" Yukari asked.

"I'm fin-... I'm not hurt." Yamagishi answered, clearly downtrodden. "I was woken up by Hamuko's screams in the middle of the night. I knocked on her door, but I think she was in the shower."

Akihiko sighed. "She's really torn, isn't she?"

"I know that but…. Minato needs her right now." Yukari said, biting her lip. "I know, she's broken up but she's the one who can heal him. Remember the time when Minato attacked us and nothing reached him? Hamuko brought him to his senses with just a few words. She needs to be there...!"

"She can heal his wounds, but this isn't as easy as last time." Sanada replied sternly. "This is something that scarred his mind badly, far worse than a normal breakdown... as normal as mental breakdowns can be, I guess." He finished, looking to the side. He didn't claim to understand how a mind worked, but he sure as Hell wished he could claim to understand what Minato was going through.

"Minato needs to come to his senses, though. Otherwise, I don't see a way he can live…" Takeba said with a grimace on her face. "And if Hamuko can't bring him back... I honestly don't know who can."

Silence.

...

...

Hamuko finally stepped out of the bathroom, and was nearly finished dressing when she heard a knock on her door.

The female fool made the last adjustments to her shirt before turning the knob and pulling the door open to find Mitsuru, was clad in a business suit, probably ready for a meeting.

"Hamuko…" Kirijo began, but she already rolled her eyes.

"I don't want to hear anything," Hamuko replied, supporting herself on the door frame.

Mitsuru's brow raised just as much as her chin lowered, her gaze passing across her minor annoyance. She caught that, and immediately regained her composure, straightening herself back up. "I'll be straight to the point, then." She took a deep breath. She was doing her best, but her voice still wouldn't keep it together. Lashing out wasn't going to work and she wanted to avoid the cracks in the team. "You need to be with him…"

"…"

"You are the only one who can help him, like you always have." The older redhead continued, the pain in her throat shining through. "He needs you right now, as I'm sure you understand."

Hamuko nodded dumbly and before Mitsuru could speak further, the younger readhead was already racing down the staircase, much to Kirijo's ire. Was she running away? Minato never ran away. He kept standing in front of her and took the problem head on.

"Tch…" she opened up her cell-phone and called her driver. Hopefully, nothing bad was going to happen.

Before leaving, Mitsuru called the entire team for a brief meeting. Yukari made sure Minato was asleep before she left him and gathered up with the team on the lounge.

"I won't be back until night," Mitsuru said. "Can you stay awake till then?"

"No problem," Akihiko said, sitting up right. His wounds were finally healing up and the few hours of rest did help a lot with the fatigue.

"Me too," Junpei said. "Take care of your business."

"Hamuko, what about you?" Mitsuru eyed the unfocused female fidgeting on the couch.

"Well, y-yeah," Hamuko nodded slowly, clearly distraught. She couldn't look straight at the current leader of SEES, as if she had to look out for something.

"Why are you so afraid?" Fuuka asked

"That damn shadow might come at any moment, don't you remember his words?"

"I expect you to fight when he does get here," Kirijo stated. "Stop shaking. I told you that Minato needs you, he will die if you just-"

"Shut up!" Hamuko pulled on her bangs, glaring harshly at the heiress. "Just shut up for a moment!"

Mitsuru paused for a second and looked at her with a mix of doubt and disdain. "Do you just not get the gravity of the situation?" Her own question fueled her annoyance. Just how exactly could she not get that she needed to be there for Minato? This display of irrationality and immaturity had gone far enough! She let let herself frown and raised her voice again, losing her composure. "We all need to cooperate here, and you're our only hope of getting him to calm down! Cease this childish tantrum at once!" Her voice cracked at several moments during her rant.

"Stop depending on me, Goddammit!" Hamuko snapped back, standing up from her chair. "You don't know shit about what I'm going through, or what's going on, either! And yet you just wanna put all the responsibility in my shoulders! God, I can't believe how selfish you are!"

Mitsuru was about to retaliate, a migraine jamming her brain's gears and making her give in to the impulse of getting some sense into that girl's head...

But Yukari promptly got up and put her hands on Mitsuru's shoulders, getting in front of her in an attempt of shielding her eyes from Hamuko. "Calm down," she said. "You can't say too much to her-"

"I know, I apologize," Mitsuru rubber her arm and lowered her head, thinking back to Hamuko's breakdown a couple of months ago. She wanted to avoid another scene like that, but it was getting increasingly difficult to hold her feelings in. She feared the consequences greatly, and she also began fearing that she wouldn't be able to restrain herself. "Takeba, you have seen Minato rush to her aid no matter the amount of pain he was in…."

"I know," the brunette said. "Hamuko is my best friend…. But she isn't Minato. She's nowhere near as mentally or physically strong…"

Mitsuru sat back on the chair and sobbed once, as Hamuko clenched her fists bloodless white.

What the fuck was Yukari trying to say...? That she was weak?! She glared holes into Takeba's back as the brunette continued to reassure Mitsuru.

'Best friend' her ass...!

Yukari smiled slightly, getting closer and patting the senior on her back. "Take care, alright, senpai?" she said soothingly, much to the redhead's surprise.

"T-Takeba?" Mitsuru muttered.

"When this clears up," Yukari hummed. "When Minato comes back and destroys that shadow, I need to have a talk with yo-"

"Hamuko!" "Hamu-tan!" She heard Akihiko and Junpei yell say from behind her, as well as some growling.

The redhead was ready to leap on her from behind.

"You backstabbing bitch!" She snarled through gritted teeth. "How can you just turn your back on me and call me weak...!"

"…" Yukari eyed her, before turning back to Mitsuru, who was trying hard not to retaliate. "Senpai, go wait for your ride at the lounge. We'll try to calm her down over here."

Kirijo averted her eyes, but nodded and got up to leave the room.

"That's right! Shut up and get the Hell outta my sight!" Hamuko yelled to Mitsuru, still in Akihiko's and Junpei's grip.

"Just go! We'll deal with her." Takeba finished, allowing the leader to finally leaving the room. "Hamuko, you gotta stop this, right now!"

"What the Hell do you know?! You literally just turned your back on me and called me weak!" That made the redhead so furious, her freaking soul was on fire. She could see Yukari burning, at that moment, that betrayal infuriated her beyond violence.

And the two fuckers restraining her weren't doing her much good either. "Get off me so I can bury this bitch alive!"

"H-Hamuko-chan, please..."

"Shut the Hell up!" She turned her head halfway around so she could spot the weeping Fuuka out of the corner of her eye. She didn't have time for that.

"Dammit, Hamu-tan, we're all friends! We can't be fighting like this!" Junpei blared near Hamko's ear, granted his position.

"I'm not friends with that two faced whore!"

"Enough is enough, Hamuko! Stop this right now!" Akihiko tried his luck, as well.

"I'll stop once I get my hands on that little..."

"Enough!"

Slap!

...

Akihiko let go of the redhead, only to take a step back and slap her in the face.

He couldn't contain himself.

Silence followed as everyone looked at him and the gaping Hamuko, as the two stared at each other with mixed emotions. Mostly regret, on Akihiko's side.

Time seemed to have stopped, as only the redhead's heavy breathing could be heard as she cupped her cheek in disbelief.

It seemed as if everything had crumbled before her eyes, at that point.

Junpei was darting his eyes back and forth between the two, trying to think of something to say. No words heeded his call, however. Hell if he noticed his mouth was halfway open, too.

"... I hate you..." Hamuko muttered, tears flowing from her eyes.

Akihiko finally sprung back into motion and extended a hand toward the girl... "...I'm sorry..."

Which she immediately slapped away. "I hate you all!" She screamed with a surely unhealthily raspy voice, scurrying out of the room bypassing even Yukari, who stood there and watched her go.

Sanada also followed her with his eyes. When she disappeared from his field of vision, he crashed onto the sofa behind him and bit at his knuckle, staring blankly at the ground.

It'd been a while since he had felt so guilty.

"Akihiko-san..." Yukari and Junpei said almost in unison, but the only latter approached him, aiming to put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine." The boxer replied automatically. "Just let me think for a while."

The still cowering Fuuka finally found strength on her legs and approached the rest of the team. "C-come on, guys... let's go see if Minato's okay..." She said, trying to divert the attention from the heavy atmosphere...

And accidentally casting people into a heavier atmosphere.

But still, it was very much necessary, as Junpei and Yukari agreed to tag along with a nod.

...

...

After checking on him and renewing the dose of tranquilizers (yes, they had to use tranquilizers to keep Minato down), the three went back to their beds, leaving the blunet in his room.

So the day went on, with everyone taking turns looking out for the unconscious teen. Hamuko had locked herself in her room, and some banging noises could be heard from time to time. Akihiko took a good hour to come down from the third floor, but joined the rest of the group on the look out for Minato, along with shopping for more medical supplies during the afternoon.

After Mitsuru arrived in the evening, she took her turn looking after him even though she was tired, but did so without complaint. Yukari thought about talking to her then, but decided to leave it for a time when the dark rings around her eyes weren't so evident.

The late night shifts then began with Akihiko, and he bid everyone good night before going to Minato's bedroom.

Hamuko still hadn't shown up at all.

...

...

Dark Hour struck at midnight, as always.

As Akihiko watched the hands of the clock stop turning, he sighed to himself, eventually looking towards Minato's face from where he sat on the ground.

Then he averted his eyes, lowering his gaze back to the ground.

The sound of that slap echoed in his mind again, and made him close his eyes shut, grimacing and clenching his fist at the memory.

He... really shouldn't have done that. He cracked under the pressure, and that was literally what he taught himself not to do for years. Don't crack.

One job: don't crack...

He supposed he wasn't the only one giving up to the pressure, but he was really the one supposed to be above all of this.

Him and Mitsuru.

And yet, the two of them gave in, at some point or the other. His pride was hurt in a way he didn't think it'd ever be.

But who was he to talk about pride, right then?

The sound of water hitting ceramic woke him up from his daze. It was silent enough that only his breathing was audible, until then.

He opened the door to inspect the sink in the small bathroom. Blood was coming from the faucet, but that was normal during the Dark Hour.

What bothered him was how it began leaking all of a sudden. He was sure it was-

 _"Minato..."_

Akihiko was immediately ready and on guard upon hearing the strange, hollow voice.

When his eyes met the mirror in front of him, a darkened face all too familiar stared at him with a blank expression.

He only had time to widen his eyes in surprise as a hand emerged from the mirror and grabbed him by the throat, choking him breathless before throwing him back with great force.

He stumbled and fell into the bath tub behind him, hitting his back on the cold hard ceramic which reminded him of the headbutt he took to the chest on the day before.

With clenched teeth, he watched as the blackened reflection literally poured from the mirror framed into the sink, overflowing and falling to the ground, forming a puddle of blackness.

Two solid yellow orbs emerged from the dark like eyes from behind the eyelids, and the black tar rose into a pillar which began to take shape...

Minato's shape.

Akihiko shook his head once and did his best to stand up, immediately raising a guard and rushing to punch the Shadow square in the face.

The monster literally opened its mouth wide enough to swallow Akihiko's fist, catching it between its sharp teeth and drawing out a scream from the boxer.

After that, the monster took a hold of Sanada's hand and threw him with great force out of the bathroom, sending him crashing on the room's wardrobe, which made him scream even louder.

The pain on his side was killing him, but he had to make an effort to stand up and-

The Shadow then emerged from the bathroom, stomping on his chest and pinning him, taking all the air in his lungs before stomping on his face once, breaking his nose, then twice, knocking him out.

It then proceeded to take Minato on its shoulders and stepped its way towards the window...

When the door was kicked open.

"Akihiko!" "Akihiko-senpai!" "Sanada-san!" "Akihiko-san!" Were the simultaneous yells of SEES when they laid eyes on the scene.

"You!" Hamuko screamed from behind the line of persona users, but it was too late.

The monster turned around and leaped out of the closed window, shattering it.

* * *

 **Yo! So, this is my take on this scene of Blood Lust. The idea came to be when I read that and was like "Hey, the team could use a few more cracks. Right now it's every one against Hamuko, wouldn't it be nice if everyone had different views on the matter?" and I started from there. Everything else is a by product, and I tried to make scenes a bit more tense than they already are. Hopefully, it brings somewhat of a fresh air and individuality for each character in the scene. I still think that Fuuka is a bit behind in this whole mess, but hey. I don't think her character can be that imposing. And the scenes needed to be a bit more dynamic and fast, so I didn't really find the space to display her doubts and stuff.**

 **I changed the ending and the order of some events, as well as adding new events and changing the direction of the plot, really. :PPP Because this is only a one shot and I could do pretty much whatever I wanted. Hope this was of your liking. It would be very nice to hear what you think of this new direction, and how do you think things would have turned out if the story followed these events.**

 **Anyway, that was that. Critics and comments in the review box below, I'm Raidou the 16th and I approve this message. *thumbs up* I don't know when I'll write something again, or IF I'll write something again, so... see ya 'round, and thanks for the attention. o/**


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